


Instead

by venomandchampagne (sushibunny)



Series: However Long It Takes [11]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Caroline Is Terrible At Pretending She Doesn't Care, Drabble Collection, F/M, Klaus Puts Him In His Place, Tyler Is A Jerk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 17:37:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5136674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sushibunny/pseuds/venomandchampagne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Klaus was the one to intervene  instead of Stefan when Tyler found out about Caroline and Klaus' time in the woods? How would he react? What would he do? And most importantly, why is he there?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unexpected Savior

**Author's Note:**

> This drabble was written as a response to a 600 word prompt from teamvampirebarbie22 on my tumblr: Klaus is the one to save Caroline from Tyler in 5x12!
> 
> Originally posted on February 2nd 2014.

"I said leave!" Tyler growled, eyes glowing yellow as his fangs extended.

Caroline gasped in shock and took a step back. She knew he was angry at her, she didn't really blame him, but to threaten her with something that had almost killed her,  _twice_ ; she couldn't believe he would do that to her, not after everything they had been through together. Even if there was no 'them' anymore, how could he just ignore their past, all the good times, everything they had shared, and threaten her like that? She stood rooted to the floor, afraid to move as he continued to glare at her, his yellow eyes piercing as a guttural growl rumbled from deep within him.

Tyler made to take a step forward, his posture threatening, when suddenly a dark streak flashed into him and pushed him against the wall. Caroline's mouth dropped open at the sight before her, her eyes growing impossibly wide. There was Klaus, one hand around Tyler's neck, holding him against the far wall.

The younger hybrid looked just as shocked to see him, if not also quite angry, as he struggled against the iron grip for a few moments, only ceasing his struggles when Klaus' grip tightened in response, his eyes returning to normal from the pain.

"Now, now, Tyler. That's no way to treat a lady," Klaus chided, his voice mocking, although undertones of barely concealed rage were clearly audible.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Tyler growled, eyes momentarily flashing yellow again. "You already fucked her, what more do you want?" he spat as he turned his glare on Caroline.

She averted her eyes, hunching her shoulders as if his hateful glare was a physical weight upon her. Caroline said nothing; what could she say? Nothing would placate Tyler at this point, not with Klaus here. And why was he even here, anyway?

Just because Caroline could find nothing to say did not mean the same was true of Klaus. The Original Hybrid's grip around Tyler's neck tightened even further, if that was possible, and he slammed him against the wall, causing the wood to splinter. Klaus continued to glare at the insolent pup even as his eyes rolled into the back of his head in pain. "I would watch your mouth if I were you," he ground out, voice deadly serious. "As to why I am here, that is none of your concern. Your piddling existence is no longer something I waste my time on, I believe I already informed you of that, didn't I? It is only a happy coincidence I happened to hear you making an ass of yourself, causing me to have to intervene."

Tyler snorted, clearly not believing anything Klaus said. "You have no right to be here!" he yelled, as loudly as he could with clamped vocal cords, at least. "This is between me and her and how she betrayed me."

Caroline watched their exchange, curiosity and nervousness fighting for dominance in her mind. She should be worried about Tyler, about what Klaus could do to him, but all she found herself caring about was why Klaus was back. She figured it was best not to ask in Tyler's company, though, so she stayed quiet as she looked on.

Klaus laughed darkly. "Is it though? How exactly did Caroline betray you, hmm? By running off and leaving you to go on a fool's errand for revenge? By not loving you more than she hated me? I think you have it backwards, mate. The one you're really angry at is yourself," he said, staring coldly at Tyler, making him meet his eyes. "You couldn't put her first, and when she made you choose, you chose wrong. You have no one to blame but yourself. Did you honestly think she would wait for you? She, who is so full of light and kindness and beauty; you thought she would be alone forever, waiting for you to realize what you left behind? That no one would notice the value of what you so callously threw away? Are you really that big of a fool?" Klaus asked, his voice steadily rising with every word. When Tyler could no longer look him in the eyes he continued, his voice just as cold, but at a normal volume. "Wallow in your own self-pity all you like, but if you dare take it out on her  _ever_  again, I will be unable to keep my promise to spare your life."

With one final shove, Klaus released him, turning and striding for the door. He shot an almost apologetic look at Caroline as he passed her but said nothing as he made his way out of the room.

The room was heavy with silence as Caroline finally looked back at Tyler, noticing the regret clear on his face. "Care-" he tried, holding out a pleading hand to her as he rubbed his bruised throat with the other.

Caroline looked once more to the now empty doorway. She spared Tyler one final glance and without a word turned on her heel and followed Klaus.


	2. Unexpected Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on March 26th 2014.

"Klaus!"

The blonde broke her silence as she ran down the hall, searching for the out of place hybrid. She caught a flash of familiar blonde hair leaving out a side door as she descended the stairs and quickly followed, dodging drunk teens as she went.

"Klaus! Wait, please!" she called again as she made her way out into the back garden, glad when the retreating form in front of her stopped.

Caroline watched curiously as his shoulders drooped for a brief moment before he straightened and turned to face her, his trademark smirk firmly in place. She frowned at the clear phoniness of it.

"Caroline, how lovely to see you again. Unfortunately I do not seem to have any champagne on me tonight, so our 'thing' will have to wait for another time," Klaus said in a tone that she was sure was supposed to read as cheerful.

She rolled her eyes as she huffed at his words, choosing to ignore the fact that, for the millionth time, they did not have a 'thing.' "So, are we like, going to ignore what just happened upstairs? Or how about the fact that you promised never to come back to Mystic Falls?" she said sharply as she crossed her arms over her chest.

She hadn't planned on yelling at him when she had initially chased after him. Actually, she had meant to thank him for the way he dealt with Tyler, but his nonchalance about everything now just irked her.  _Klaus getting under my skin, big surprise_ , she thought as she glared at the hybrid.

Klaus dropped his hands to his side as his smirk disappeared. "Always straight to the point, sweetheart. One of the qualities I love about you," he said, the lack of a grin conveying his honesty.

Caroline shifted her weight nervously, uncomfortable with his praise. "Why are you here, Klaus?" she asked, much softer than she meant to.  _Damn him for throwing me off with his stupid compliments, I bet he did that on purpose._

"As much as it pained me to break my promise to you," the glint in his eyes and the tug at the corner of his mouth told her that was a lie, "Stefan insisted I make an appearance. Some issue with cannibalistic vampires or some such he wanted my input on. And you know how persistent our friend Stefan can be," he grinned, pleased when a small smile appeared on her face. "Surely you would grant me a pardon in this case?" he teased.

"Mhmm, and I'm sure you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart, right?" Caroline said, rolling her eyes when he chuckled.  _I'm sure there's a joke about not having a heart in there somewhere._

"Are you saying you doubt my intentions are pure?" he said, mock offended as he raised a hand to his chest, stepping closer to her.

The blonde only scoffed, shaking her head at his antics, though she was finding it difficult to keep a grin from forming on her lips.

Klaus stopped when he was only a few feet from her, his face suddenly serious. "Are you alright, love?" he asked softly, hesitantly raising a hand to touch her face, pausing before he touched her skin, looking at her face intently for her reaction. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" When she made no move away, he brushed his fingers against her cheek, moving across her soft skin to tuck a blonde lock behind her ear.

Caroline found herself reaching up to cover his hand with her own, surprising both of them with her action. "No, I'm fine. You came in before anything happened," she answered, staring at his eyes.  _Were they always that shade of blue?_  "Thank you," she added, remembering her original purpose for following him out there.

"Of course, love," he said, his eyes moving to look at her lips for a brief moment before he met her gaze again. "No one should ever be allowed to say such things to you," he said sincerely.

She offhandedly realized her hand was still holding his to the side of her face, but she didn't care enough to move it. Caroline felt herself moving forward as her eyes fluttered closed, both surprised and not when his lips met hers. The kiss didn't last long before they both slowly pulled away, a fact Caroline couldn't decide was good or bad, eyes meeting once more.

Her heart beat faster in her chest at the genuine smile on his face, just like the one he had worn after she first kissed him in the woods. "I'm still not ready," she blurted out, wincing at the flash of pain that crossed his features for a moment. She knew she had to tell him, though; it was the right thing to do.

Klaus' smile turned sad as he brought his other hand to her cheek, cupping her face between his hands. "I know," he said simply, tilting his head up to place a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'll always be waiting," she heard him say (when had she closed her eyes?) before she felt a rush of air, the familiar sound of supernatural speed causing her to snap them open again.

He was gone.

Caroline stared off into the darkness, wondering if he was going to go back to keeping his promise. She laughed at the thought. She had a feeling if she kept him waiting too long she would find the hybrid making another 'necessary' trip to Mystic Falls. And surprisingly enough, the thought brought a smile and not a frown to her lips.

The vampire turned back towards the house and the party, determined to have a little chat with her vampire sober companion about his choice of advisors.


End file.
